TY - JOUR AU - Wibul, P. AU - Malakul, P. AU - Pavasant, P. AU - Kangvansaichol, K. AU - Papong, S. PY - 2012/09/20 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Life Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel Production from Microalgae in Thailand: Energy Efficiency and Global Warming Impact Reduction JF - Chemical Engineering Transactions VL - 29 SP - 1183-1188 SE - Research Articles DO - 10.3303/CET1229198 UR - https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/CET1229198 AB - In this study, a life cycle assessment (LCA) technique based on ISO 14040 series was performed to evaluate biodiesel production from freshwater microalgae Scenedesmus armatus in terms of energy efficiency (Net Energy Ratio or NER) and environmental impact (Global Warming Potential or GWP). The system boundary covered the entire life cycle of microalgae-based biodiesel, which was divided into four distinct steps: cultivation, harvesting, oil extraction, and transesterification. Based on a functional unit of 1 MJ biodiesel, NER was found to be 0.34 and 0.19 for mass allocation and energy allocation, respectively. This energy deficit (NER